Tessa Bailey

Hannah Bellinger and Fox Thornton have been texting almost daily since she left the small fishing village of Westport, Washington to return to her day job as a production assistant for a small film company in LA. The two have become unlikely close friends and so when Hannah comes back to Westport, this time to work on a film, she's more than happy to stay with Fox as her sister's guest room is full with other family. Being in close proximity again, however, highlights that Hannah and Fox's friendship might be more than that. But Fox's baggage from a lifetime being seen as the town's lady's man may be more than their fledgling romance can take.

Browsing my local library's romance section, I picked this one up on a whim to sample Tessa Bailey's writing. While I'd definitely give another of her books a try, this one didn't quite win me over. Friends to lovers is one of my favourite tropes and while that territory often comes with a bit of angst, this one was VERY angst heavy. Fox spends a LOT of time feeling unworthy of Hannah because of his reputation, which is fair as character trait, but didn't make for particularly fun reading. And there's a bunch of waffling about whether they should get together at all. There were some funny moments and Bailey's writing is decent, which is what kept me sticking with the book to the end. However, the epilogue was pretty saccharine, even for someone who loves a sappy happy ending. Ultimately a read that I'd describe as fine enough but there are much better romances out there.… (plus d'informations)

I generally like Tessa Bailey, but she has also handed me some of the absolutely most laughably bad romance writing I have ever endured. Most of the truly terrible stuff is older, and maybe this was sitting in a drawer somewhere and was written years back, I don't know. What I do know is that it is nearly beyond belief that the same person wrote this and also wrote the Vine Mess or Bellinger Sisters series.

This novella is a bad story based on a terrible premise but even worse the MMC is hella creepy, with a pathological wife kink. Never has matrimony seemed so unappealing to me, and that includes the day I filed for divorce from a man who was stalking me.… (plus d'informations)